Festivalikorraldajad

Muuseumid

The 19th Century Tartu Citizen's Home Museum is situated in the vicinity of St. John's Church, in an old and most peculiar part of Tartu, which was built up in the first part of the 18th century. It is housed in one of the oldest remaining wooden dwelling houses of Tartu, erected in the 1740s, at the address 16 Jaani Street. The plot is located in the part of the Old Town surrounded with the town wall and it is likely to have been developed early on. The oldest written references to buildings at this plot are from the late 16th century.

As you enter this building, you will find yourself in the home of a middle class citizen back in 1830. The living quarters have been reconstructed in accordance with the fashion of the II quarter of the 19th century and as you cast your glance around the rooms you will notice a Biedermeier-style interior and furniture. Visitors have access to the German family living room or hall, the dining room, the bedroom and the kitchen. In the olden days, the family used to gather in the hall in the evening for conversation, reading, listening to music and this is where family acquaintances were received. Nowadays the favourite place for our museum visitors is the kitchen, situated in the centre of the house.

Anton Hansen Tammsaare, best known for his pentalogy Truth and Justice, is one of the most praised Estonian writers.After the publication of the first part of Truth and Justice in 1926 many people started visiting his birth farm curious to see the landscape and people described in the novel.

Officially the museum for A.H. Tammsaare was opened on 30th January 1958 in the house built by the writer's brother August.Originally the exhibition was located only on the second floor of the dwelling house but in 1978 on the 29th of January, in order to commemorate the 100th birthday of A.H. Tammsaare, a set of reconstructed buildings was opened. Replicas of former barn-dwelling, barn, crofters dwellings,and fences were built. Also, hiking trails in the bogs surrounding the farm were created. Since 1994 the laureates of the Järvamaa Cultural prize have come to the museum once a year to plant a tree thus helping to create and expand the Cultural Grove. Since 1970s the museum grounds have been a popular placefor various kinds of open-air theatre performances. Plays based on the works of Tammsaare have been most popular though.

While the museum is dedicated to A.H.Tammsaare, it is also a good place for learning about the life of the mid 19th century Central Estonian peasants in general.In addition to viewing the exhibition, one can take a walk in the Cultural Grove or go hiking in the surrounding bogs.

The museum is dedicated to Adamson-Eric (1902–1968), one of the most versatile creative personalities in Estonian art in the 20th century. Mainly known as a brilliant painter, he was also skilled in nearly all fields of applied art. The building of the Adamson-Eric Museum was renovated in 1983, after a generous gift to the Art Museum of Estonia by the artist's widow, who donated about a thousand works of art in different media to the museum. In addition to the permanent display and temporary exhibitions, education programmes, concerts and lectures are organized in the museum and its courtyard.The permanent exhibition of the museum displays the creative heritage of Adamson-Eric (paintings, ceramics, leatherwork, jewellery, textiles, etc). Adamson-Eric's idiosyncratic paintings and applied art pieces are characterised by elegance, refined colours and brilliant esprit. His aesthetic principles are based on the traditions of French painting. At the same time his art is closely connected to the local Northern environment and the traditions of Estonian national art. Adamson-Eric's abundant work reflects the developments in fine and applied arts in Estonia during more than forty years.

The University of Tartu Art Museum is one of the oldest museum in Estonia being founded in 1803. The Museum was established in the University in order to illustrate lectures and develop the students' taste for art.The Museum as founded by its first director, Prof Karl Morgenstern (1770-1852), had a wide variety of collections, mirroring the principles of the Enlightenment and displaying various forms of art and the art of different countries. In the middle of the 19th century, the Museum was renamed the Museum of Classical Antiquities with its emphasis only on ancient art. The Museum was opened to the general public outside the academic circles in 1862 and thereby acquired a greater significance. The Museum moved to its present location in the left wing of the University Main Building in 1868.Since 1998, the Museum bears its former name – The University of Tartu Art Museum, and in addition to ancient art, visitors can have a look at exhibitions displaying other collections of the Museum and contemporary Estonian art.

Those visiting Kadriorg with children will definitely want to put this family-oriented museum on their to-do list. Built in a 1930s-era recreational centre, Miia-Milla-Manda offers fun, creative activities for 3 to 11 year-olds. It's exhibits are based around the theme of friendship. Café at the museum, playground on the door step and vast virtually traffic free Kadriorg park surrounding the museum makes this place the child-friendliest place to be in all kinds of weather.

This is the first computer museum in Estonia. Our big collection features many interesting and historically valuable objects - desktop, portable and pocket computers, terminals, computer components, calculators, software and books.

We didn't put our exhibits behind the glass so that visitors get a better view and photos and maybe find their first PC.

Visit us alone, with your family and friends, or with a group, explore computing history, have a good time playing old games.

The primary motivation for the development of the Estonian Museum of Contemporary Art was the closing of the Art Museum of Estonia’s exhibition hall for contemporary art in the Rotermann Salt Storage, and the opening of the Kumu in 2006; whereby contemporary art was consigned to the hermetic altitudes of the top floor – between heaven and earth – in the already confused mixture of national gallery and modern art museum. In the direct sense, an exhibition space hovering at such a height lost touch with the earth and reality. Therefore, the EKKM got its start as a protest against the inability of Estonia’s cultural policy to create two separate institutions for contemporary art and the national heritage – the paths of which cross ever less frequently.

The museum on the ground floor of a neo-baroque building erected for the castellan of Kadriorg in the mid-19th century shows the last apartment of one of the best-known Estonian writers of the early 20th century – Eduard Vilde (1865-1933).

The writer lived in a light six-room flat together with his wife and mother-in-law in 1927-1933. The furniture made at the Tallinn Luther factory, the original interior doors and tiled stoves have survived. The balusters of the wooden staircase that date from the turn of the 19th and 20th century are also original.

E. Vilde Museum has been on the premises since 1946. The present-day display provides a survey of the writer's life and work and gives a very good idea of the urban mode of life in the 1920s. The halls on the first floor are used for art, literary and cultural history exhibitions.

Opening hours of the museum and the museum shopTues-Fri 12:00-17:00Sat 11:00-16:00

Free admission!

The Eesti Pank Museum is happy to introduce its exposition on the history of Estonian money and on the activities of the central bank. The museum is located on the first floor of an historical building that once housed the Estonian Nobility's Credit Union. Exciting machines and games as well as interesting video materials and virtual exhibitions are located in the Nobility and Peasant Halls, the corner tower and the old depository of the building, which is over one hundred years old.

The updated exposition of the Eesti Pank Museum helps visitors understand the role of money in the society. We explain the meaning of price stability to the central bank, introduce the financial policy measures at its disposal and give an overview of how the financial system works. You will find interesting information about the euro and the Eurosystem, the management of the central bank's external assets, as well as payment methods and the payment environment.

The museum has also a press conference room and museum shop-currency exchange desk. Thus, the museum of Eesti Pank welcomes not only the people interested in money and in the central bank but also all the people who want to buy collector coins and souvenirs or exchange Estonian kroons for euros.

There’s lightning in the air at the 100-year-old power plant and modern science centre in the heart of Tallinn. Energy Discovery Centre features daily lightning shows unique in Northern Europe, static electricity demonstrations, over 100 hands-on exhibits, Planetarium screenings and shows. The Centre invites its visitors to learn about electricity, the history of energy production, and have fun with different physical phenomena.

Our museum is located at historic Ülenurme Manor Estate 3 km outside of Tartu (link). Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia, the capital of Southern Estonia, and the oldest city in the Baltic States. Our museum offers exciting and attractive ways of spending leisure time. Our museum collects, preserves, researches and introduces the history of agriculture and rural life. We invite you to discover our exhibitions, conferences, thematic programmes, workshop activities, contests, all-family events, concerts, celebrations of days of Estonian national calendar, and cattle breeding shows.In addition to museum activities, you can enjoy the sights and sounds of outdoors as the ancient manor park provides a pleasant ambience for a leisurely picnic.

The history of the ELM began in the year 1909, when the Estonian National Museum and the Archival Library as its subdivision were founded in Tartu. The other archives of the ELM were also created as subdivisions of the Estonian National Museum first: thus, the year 1921 saw the birth of the Estonian Bibliography Foundation (now the bibliography department of the Archival Library), 1927 that of the Estonian Folklore Archives, and 1929 the Estonian Cultural History Archives.

Vanemuise 42 In 1940, the Estonian National Museum Foundation was divided into two state museums: the Estonian Ethnography Museum and the Estonian Literary Museum. The Estonian Folklore Archives and the Estonian Cultural History Archives were renamed as departments of the ELM.

Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design (ETDM) is located in the old town of Tallinn in a 17th century storehouse. The museum’s collection was initiated in 1919 as part of the collections of the Estonian Art Museum.

Today it consists of examples of contemporary Estonian applied art as well as of design prototypes and products. The collection, with 15 000 exhibits, includes works of textile art, ceramics, porcelain, leather, glass, jewellery, metalwork, furniture and product design. There is also a rare collection of photographs, negatives and slides; a small specialist library and an archival collection. The collections of Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design offer the largest and most comprehensive overview of Estonian applied art and design.

The Museum of Estonian Architecture - its exhibition halls and archives is placed in Rotermann’s Salt Storage, a magnificent industrial building near Tallinn harbour. The Museum has spacious exhibition hall of 484 m2 and two galleries of 161 m2 above it. The basement is also used for exhibitions and art events.

The Museum of Estonian Architecture was established on January 1st 1991. Its aims are collecting, preserving, study, interpreting and exhibiting Estonian architecture. As many of architectural museums in the world the Museum of Estonian Architecture is collecting the materials of 20th century architecture mainly. Museum is the member of ICAM (International Confederation of Architectural Museums).

The Estonian Road Museum (TERM) is the centre of displaying the collection and research of the data on history of Estonian roads with the view of mediating its scientific, educational and entertaining points to the public.

TERM was established by The Estonian Road Administration.

A road is so characteristic of a civilization that usually we do not think about it more than about the air we breathe. A road - a construction taken for granted - has actually played a great part in the development of our modern world. A road takes us somewhere, connects our starting points and destinations. If we value cultural memory, roads take us back in time and offer us stories from time immemorial. And even if we seem to be moving on, referring to the past has an ability to help us to be in the present as well as in the future.

The idea to collect data about the history of Estonian roads is at least a quarter of a century old. Through several decades the initiator and carrier of the idea to establish a road museum was a legendary road worker Aadu Lass. However, the Road Museum was not created until the end of the 1990s. When choosing the location, the Varbuse postal station with its dignified and long history, located on the Tartu-Võru postal road, was found to be suitable due to several reasons. The Varbuse postal station, established in 1863, was active until the stage-coach postal services vanished completely in Estonia during 1920s and 1930s. In 1935 it was given to the disposal of the Varbuse road master. Until 1997, the centre of the road master's area was located in the buildings of the postal station.

The Varbuse postal station, protected as an architectural monument, consists of five ground stone and red brick buildings. They are the main building of the postal station and a coach house (renovated in 2001), a stable (renovated in 2004), a blacksmith's shop, a sauna, a laundry room and a dwelling for postmen and saddlers (renovated in 2006). The buildings are connected by a wall made of granit, forming a spacious rectangular inner court. To exhibit the museum's road construction machines, a 1000m² exhibition hall was built in 2003 near the postal station complex.

Estonian Sports Museum is located in the centre of Tartu, just a few minutes walk from Raekoja square. There are quite a few places of interest near the museum as well - the main building of Tartu University, St. John's church, the botanical gardens, parks in the banks of river Emajõgi etc.

A small part of the museum - Otepää Winter Sports Museum is situated in the Winter Capital Otepää, about 40 km south of Tartu.

Estonian Theatre and Music Museum was founded March 22, 1924 to preserve the collected materials of an Estonian composer Peeter Süda (1883- 1920). P. Süda's valuable collections of folksongs, notes and specialized library are the cornerstones of today's Estonian Theatre and Music Museum. The founder of the museum was an artist and antique collector August Pulst.

Estonian Theatre and Music Museum collects, preserves, studies and introduces the Estonian theatre and musicale life. The museum organizes exhibitions, concerts and discussion evenings. In the summer time some museum events take place in the small courtyard of Assauwe.

Estonian Theatre and Music Museum has a music and theatre department. We have a unique musical and theatrical library, large note archive, collections of art, photos and films.

The music department has a distinguished collection of many famous Estonian composers handwritten notes and documents. The collection has materials about Estonian conductors, musicians, choirs, orchestras and musical societies.

The theatre department offers a good overview of the Estonian theatre history and status of today, collections of play-programs, photos, reviews, learning materials and drafts of the theatrical costumes and stage designs. Many interesting materials are demonstrated on the exhibitions, been published and used for the theme-events.

The library is a great source of theatre and music publications (books, magazines, newspaper articles).

The permanent exhibition of the musical instruments, catches the attention with a variety of different home-organs, folk-, brass- and string-instruments. The charmer of the mechanical music-interments is a "Boy with a piglet", what works based on a clockwork. Visitors can use the help of a professional guide to enjoy our exhibitions better. The theatre department offers a theatrical lecture for schools and drama-clubs.

Museum is an owner of Heino Eller's (1887- 1970) copyrights and since 1998 once a year gives out an award to an accomplished Estonian musician. H. Eller is a noted founder of Estonian symphonic- and chamber music.

Evald Okas Museum is a private museum which has been open to the public in the city of Haapsalu since the year 2003.

The mission of the museum is to collect, preserve, and exhibit the creation of Evald Okas and his family members. During the summer months, the work of Evald Okas, his family members and various other artists is displayed in an exhibition programme. In addition to the exhibition work, the museum also holds art courses and different cultural events. The museum is also unique for the way it has been built – it’s history goes back to the mid-19th century when it was originally built to be a tavern. The history of the house gives it a very distinctive individual feel.

The museum is open for visitors during the summer months – from the beginning of June until the end of August.

The Flo Kasearu House Museum is situated in a cosy wooden house, very typical for the peaceful milieu in the valuable Tallinn district of Pelgulinn. The artist opens her home to visitors who will get an exclusive chance to be part of the creative atmosphere of the house. Decades have passed since the Kasearu family left their house in Pelgulinn, but now for the last three years they have returned as lawful owners to take care of the family estate. The house plays a very important role in Flo Kasearu’s life as it is both a home and an atelier, offering warmth and a roof to her family, friends and their creative lives. Art pieces, a collection of artefacts and an archive are exhibited for visitors in the eight apartments of the house, as well as in the attic and basement. In the backyard a pleasant garden with open air installations and a children’s playing corner can be found. The museum also houses a functional library, and after the visit, visitors may relax in the museum café which serves homemade foods. There is also a museum gift shop.

Harju County Museum has operated in Keila manor-house since 1988. The museum collects, preserves, researches and displays the life of Harju County: its natural and cultural history, as well as its economic life and military history. The museum’s permanent exposition Life of Harju, as well as several temporary exhibitions are open to the public. A library and an archive of historical and cultural manuscripts are at the disposal of researchers. The museum arranges guided tours in Keila and throughout Harju County.

The main complex of St John the Baptist’s Hospital or Alms-house was located south-east from the town wall, about half a kilometre away, where the Old Tartu Road crossed the Härjapea River. It was the former Kivisilla Suburb.

It was a neglected corner in the centre of the town up to the mid-1990s when the breakthrough of the tartu Road was started and the place began to change rather fast. When old buildings were demolished, well-preserved basements of the 13th-14th-century buildings were unearthed together with a part of the alms-house’s cemetery. In 2001 extensive archaeological excavations were made and it was decided to preserve a part of the alms-house complex that was quite rare in the North-European context. In May 2004 a pavilion was opened on the alleged site of the alms-house hospital to present a display about the history of the alms-house and Kivisilla Suburb.

In addition to the information on stands and in showcases, there is a multimedia programme with a contact screen. Slides illustrate the history of the Kivisilla Suburb.

The Kadriorg Art Museum introduces, preserves and collects early foreign art – primarily western European and Russian paintings, graphic arts, sculpture and applied arts. The museum is located in Kadriorg Park in Tallinn, in a Baroque palace built by Tsar Peter the Great of Russia as a summer residence.

The Kadriorg Art Museum is the only museum in Estonia devoted to foreign art. Estonia's largest collection of western European and Russian art (about 9,000 works of art from the 16th to 20th centuries) is located here. The Mikkel Museum houses the collection of paintings, graphic arts and porcelain donated to the museum by the private collector Johannes Mikkel (1907–2006).The Kadriorg Art Museum has an extensive permanent exhibition, which displays the best of its foreign art collection. In addition, there are revolving exhibitions that deal with early European art and its history. The objectives of the Kadriorg Art Museum and its exhibition activities are to introduce the world's art legacy and the creation of local collections in an international context, as well as to mediate ways of viewing and interpreting early art. Along with exhibitions, the museum's publications and spring conferences also deal with topical issues of art history.

As a competence centre for early art and art history, the Kadriorg Museum has a wide network of international contacts with European museums, restoration centres and scientific institutions. Continuous cooperation also occurs with Estonia's schools of higher education – many of the museum employees are also faculty members. Seminars, lectures, practical training for students and exhibition presentations are also carried out at the museum.The Education Centre of the Kadriorg Art Museum is called the Palace School and fosters the continuance of European art traditions in Estonia. Every year, more than 1,200 tours at various levels and on various subjects are conducted by the Palace School. The programmes also include hundreds of museum classes for children, dozens of programmes for children and young adults related to the revolving exhibitions, and Saturday Academy lectures. The family events at the Palace School include the Palace Garden Games, Great Painting Saturdays and Late Wednesdays series. Museum guide training and birthday programmes for the old and the young also take place under the auspices of the Palace School.

Great added value is provided to the museum by its location in the Kadriorg Palace. Joint events with Kadriorg Park, which expand the museum's activities into the garden and park, as well as concerts and receptions, are well-suited to the personality of Estonia's grandest Baroque palace.

The constraction of the Kadriorg Palace was started by the Tsar Peter the Great of Russia in 1718. It was named Kadriorg (in German Catharinenthal) in honour of his wife Catherine I. The palace was designed by the Italian architect Nicola Michetti and its abundantly decorated main hall is one of the most exquisite examples of baroque architecture both in Estonia and in northern Europe.

Kadriorg Palace has always been the crown jewel of Tallinn. The small festive tsars' palace in the style of Roman Baroque, surrounded by a regular garden, with fountains, hedges and flowerbeds, planned after the model of Versailles, was erected on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, according to the wishes of the Russian ruler Peter I.

Most of the Russian rulers visited the imperial summer residence. Great changes in the life and in the interior of the palace occurred in the fi rst half of the 19th century, when Tallinn, which had become a fashionable holiday resort, was often visited by Nicholas I and his family. The palace served as the main building of the Art Museum of Estonia in the 1920s, and again in 1946–1991. In the 1930s, it was the residence of the Head of State of the Estonian Republic. During that period, extensions to palace were added – the banquet hall and orangery; many rooms were redecorated.

In 2000, the palace was opened as the Kadriorg Art Museum, which displays the largest collection of old Russian and Western European art in Estonia.

The Manor Lodge House houses have a permanent and comprehensive exhibition of Hiiumaa history from the origins of the island through to the last decade of the twentieth century. Of particular note is the wide variety of original objects.

The Old Lodge garden is an ideal place for summer events and the museum shop offers a great choice of local handicrafts.

The tower Kiek in de Kök together with the tunnels of the Ingrian and Swedish bastions is an exciting part of Tallinn historical fortifications. The exhibition of "Kiek in de Kök and Bastion Passages" reopened in March 2010 takes the visitor to a time journey that begins in 1219 and offers experience, information and entertainment.With the help of innovative video- and sound-effects and means of multimedia the birth and evolution of Tallinn, the history of town fortifications and the most significant military events are introduced to the visitor. The main part of the tunnel display- inside the Ingrian Bastion - concentrates on the history of the passages. In a short tunnel that leads to the Swedish bastion, the time train takes the tourist to 2219. The cafe on the uppermost floor of the tower offers magnificent views of the upper town Toompea, the lower town and the harbour.

Kohtla-Järve Museum of Oil Shale is an academic museum that was established in 1966. Its visitors have access to a permanent display that reflects the formation of oil shale as a rock, as well as the history of its mining industry and the present value of oil shale.

In the museum collection, at the disposal of researchers, there are more than 27’000 units. In addition to the articles of economic history are more than 600 works of art, the oldest of which dates back to the 1920’s.

In May 2006 a database was set up to house a digital representation of the collection at the museum. Since then items have been added to this digital store, same year Museum of Oil Shale web site have been published on Internet. As of 2008, this site has made an English version available to its users.

Since the 1st of October 2006 the structure of the museum has been altered to accommodate several other independent units used to organize art exhibitions. One example of this is Kohtla-Järve White Hall, formerly the City Gallery, whose main task was organization of art exhibitions in cooperation with Kohtla-Järve Artist Association. Yet another example is the Virtual Branch of the State Russian Museum, whose objective was the organization of virtual excursions. Currently the collection houses more than 50 units of video materials detailing both Russian and world-wide cultural heritage.

As of October 2006 a project translating finished programs to Estonian was started. At the same time an active search of contacts with other museums across Europe was made in order to enrich the museum’s video material collection. There is currently a permanent collaboration with the schools of Kohtla-Järve, and indeed with IT and Art teachers.

Since 2007, the Museum of Oil Shale has been situated in Kukruse village. This location is very symbolic as there has been a history of mining of oil shale in Kukruse for 90 years. Another important factor has been the immediate vicinity of the Tallinn – St. Petersburg highway.

The museum is located in a building of Pärnu school Ülejõe built in 1850 in which J.W Yannsen lived during the period 1850-1863, there also were publishers 'Perno Postimees'. The building is guarded by the Department of Antiquities Protection. The main task of the museum to preserve the memory of these remarkable people like Johann Waldemar Yannsen and his daughter Lydia Koidula, and pass through the exhibition peculiarities of the life and activities of the inhabitants of the villages in the context of the Estonian national awakening in Estonia

The museum of L.Koidula was opened onJuly 21, 1945 in the building in which once was located Pärnu School Ülejõe and which had a memorial plaque with the text: "In this house lived JW Yannsen (1850-1863) and here grew up his daughter, Lydia Koidula. " already in 1924.

A branch of the Art Museum of Estonia. The main building for the Art Museum of Estonia.Weizenbergi 34 / Valge 1, 10127 Tallinn. (+372) 602 6000muuseum@ekm.eewww.ekm.eeOpen: May–Sept. Tue–Sun 11–18; Oct.–April Wed–Sun 11-18

Kumu is a new type of modern multifunctional art building that contains exhibition halls, a lecture hall offering diverse facilities, and an educational centre for young visitors and for art lovers.

a) Walk from the Viru square along the Narva motorway to the Kadriorg, to the end of the Weizenberg street.

b) By tram: From the centre with trams nr. 1 or 3 to the last stop in Kadriorg, from there to the end of the Weizenberg street.

c)By bus: Busterminal in Viru Centre - J. Poska: nr 1, 1a, 19, 29, 29a, 29b, 34a, 38, 44. Hobujaama - J. Poska: nr 35, 60, 63. Kunstiakadeemia - Uuslinn: nr 31, 53, 56, 67, 68.d)Cars and tourbuses: Along the Narva motorway or by the Laagna road. Parking space in in the Valge street. You can enter the museum from there using either the pedestrian tunnel or the main entrance. Parking space for handicapped is situated in the Mäekalda street. Handicapped can enter the Kumu also from the Valge street, using the elevator that takes them directly to the courtyard of the museum.

The head office of the Hiiumaa Museum has been based in Kärdla since 1998, located in the building known as Pikk Maja (Long House). Pikk Maja was built in the 1830s as a residence for the directors of the Hiiu-Kärdla textile factory. It was since then home to several generations of the Ungern-Sternberg and Peltzer families. During the period of the Soviet occupation, different establishments and offices used the building.

The Hiiumaa Museum science and exhibition centre has a permanent exhibition, about life in Kärdla during the period of the woolen factory and also has temporary exhibitions. In addition to the exhibitions, lectures, concerts and salon evenings take place in the building’s main hall.

In 1997 a new museum introducing the private collection of Johannes Mikkel was opened in the former kitchen building of the Kadriorg palace. The wooden guards' house opposite the gates of the palace that was originally built at the beginning of the 19th century has been completely restored.

Estonia boasts an unusual amount of space per capita. Over a half of our country is covered with pristine nature: trees swaying overhead, bogs fading into the mist, erratic boulders sticking out of the sea along the coastline. Such wealth of intact nature is rarely found elsewhere in Europe.

The more life concentrates in cities, the more humans become estranged from the woods and seas. Yet humans, too, are part of nature, of the animal kingdom: we ourselves do not remember but the genes know. A return to nature is as if a journey to one’s self. We invite you on this journey, telling stories of the wilderness of Estonia and helping you decode its secret talks.

The UT History Museum showcases the history of science and university education in Tartu from the 17th century to the present day.

The museum is located on Toome Hill, which has also been poetically described as an abode of the muses. Here the museum occupies several historical university buildings dating from the 19th century - the former university library built in the choir of the ruins of a former dome cathedral, the Old Observatory and part of the Old Anatomical Theatre (closed due to renovation, opening date unknown).

The museum offers the public a permanent exhibition and numerous special exhibitions. From spring to autumn, visitors can enjoy a magnificent view of the city from the viewing platforms situated on the top of the preserved bases of the cathedral’s towers. The museum also holds classes for school students, helping them acquire new knowledge through hands-on experience. The museum’s collection, which is one of a kind in Estonia, is available to scholars and researchers. The museum’s White Hall is one of the most prestigious event venues in Tartu.

The University of Tartu History Museum is part of a larger university institution - Museums of the University of Tartu, which also includes the university’s Art Museum and Natural History Museum. All three cooperate closely with one another.

Oskar Luts Home Museum provides you with information and emotions of a man who gave the Estonian people the immortal novel Kevade (Spring) and who, in his own way, was among the most remarkable burghers of Tartu, as he lived side by side with the legend of himself.

The Photo Museum is located behind the Town Hall (at 4/6, Raekoja Street) in the former Town Council’s Prison. The permanent exhibition on the two floors of both buildings offers a survey of the history of Estonian photography in 1840-1940.

The display begins with rarities like daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and ferrotypes.

The visitor also gets an idea about the development of cameras and sees a studio and darkroom equipment from the early 20th century.

The display ends with the smallest of our cameras. It is the Minox that was invented in Tallinn and the first camera also made here in 1936 but it was finally produced in Riga in 1938.

The Photo Museum, a branch museum of the Tallinn City Museum, is an interesting combination of a rare building where once justice was administered and today one of the most available and widespread arts – photography is displayed.

In 1479 a stronghold was built on the isle in the middle of Lake Porkuni, but it was destroyed a long time ago, during the Livonian War (1558-1583). Only the barbican remained. To maintain the barbican, that has belonged to the estate for centuries it has been reconditioned.After the WW2 the barbican belonged to Porkuni school. For the quincentennial of the barbican it was reconditioned and taken into usage as a common room of the school. In 1991 an exposition about the history of teaching deaf people in Estonia was compiled here. From June 4, 1992 the limestone exposition was added.

Visitors get a comprehensive overview of limestone – Estonian national stone all through the five storeys of the barbican tower. Exposition introduces the formation story, distribution and use of limestone and various zoolites. There is also elaborate collection of limestone samples throughout Estonia. In the top of the barbican there is an observation platform. From here one can take a glance at the complex of manor buildings, Lake Porkuni and the surrounds.

Limestone museum is also convenient place for high school and college students to acquire additional knowledge about geology. Hobbyists can investigate and manipulate limestone samples on their own, also define and determine the zoolites. Local guides are giving relevant information about the exposition and sites of cultural heritage in Porkuni.

Pärnu Museum exhibition ranges from the Stone Age to past millennias and gives an opportunity to feel the breath of centuries through many genuine articles, new knowledge, games and experience corners.

Põlva Peasant Museum is situated on the post-road from Tartu to Võru. It is an open air museum in the South of Estonia on a territory of 5 ha.The typical covering with buildings of the parish centre was formed at the end of the 19th century. Here is tried to attain the closeness to life and the naturalness with exposition. The founding of the museum was started at the beginning of 1970s. Windmill was brought here in 1974.

The main building of the museum is the schoolhouse of Karilatsi. The history of the Karilatsi village school starts in 1766, the present schoolhouse was built in 1889 and was in use until 1972. There is now furnished a classroom and a teacher’s apartement as it was in the first half of the 20th century. To the complex of the schoolfarm belonged also a teachers’ house (built in 1927), cowhouse (1884), storehouse (1897), smoke sauna and cellar.

Throughout the ages, Rakvere Castle has belonged to Danish kings, knight-monks of the Livonian Order and the Swedish and Polish states.The longest period was the age of the Order, when Rakvere Castle was an important link in the defence system of the eastern border of the Teutonic Order.

The bailiffs of Rakvere Castle were usually smart and capable young knights, for whom the castle was a good springboard to gaining a leading position in the Order. At the end of the old times there was an Estonian stronghold called Tarvanpää at the present location of Rakvere Castle.In 1226, during his journey to Virumaa the papal legate Wilhelm of Modena stayed there.

Under his supervision peace was made between the Danes and Germans and land conquered from the Estonians was distributed.

The house built in the beginning of the 19th century is one of the oldest and rarest small town buildings in Estonia. It is a birthplace of one of Estonian's most outstanding classical composers Rudolf Tobias, who was born on 29th of May in 1873. His father Johannes was a parish clerk and the organ master of Käina church.Exhibition of historic origin schoolhouse gives a full overview of composers life and work. 19th-20th century furniture and music instruments are displayed in the museum. A granary, shed and a windmill characteristic to Hiiumaa are located in the courtyard.A beautiful view to the Käina Bay will ring visitors knell.

The Foundation Valga Permanent Exposition of Patriotic Education is one of the most original military theme parks in Estonia, which focuses on patriotic and civic awareness, national defence and internal security.

You will get acquainted with the history and current activities of the Estonian Defence Force,units of the National Defence League (Kaitseliit),the Security Police,the Police and Border Guard Department as well as Estonian and Latvian Rescue Services.The museum exhibitions depict the Estonian War of Independence,battles on the banks of the river Väike Emajõgi in 1944, and themes of the Soviet Army.In addition,a rich variety of rifles through the ages is displayed.

In the theme park,which is being developed,you can have a look at Soviet military equipment (tank T-34, armoured vehicles and other machinery),climb into an anti-communist partisan’s(or bushwacker’s)bunker and a Mi -8 helicopter, and sit by the fire in a conic (wooden) tent.

The military sports trail/steeplechase, including attractions such as “mine field“, “jungle path“, “Tarzan leap“, climbing the net wall, 50-metre air flight etc, provides visitors with a possibility of testing their strength and skills.

Different other services can be booked in advance: a ride in an armoured vehicle, the airsoft, the use of a sports hall and recreation complex (with a sauna, fireplace hall, billiard room, a possibility to stay overnight in the barracks), a training hall with a shooting simulator, museum hours, lectures, rooms and programmes for children’s birthdays and family celebrations, excursions in Valga and in the surrounding countryside.

Professional literature is available in the library and visitors are welcome to buy books, souvenirs and antiques at the museum shop.

Karepa Kalame Farm was the artist Richard Sagrits’s home which became his summerhouse later. His paintings are displayed in the studio and there is also an exhibition in the living room. The whole house looks genuine and interesting. A place with a special charm is the lamprey kitchen where lampreys are roasted in autumn. There are enough of them in the Selja River, just a few metres from the house. The distinctive pines and the sea nearby add their value to the place. Art can be met at every step on the farm and by now there are three sculptures in the yard - “Easel”, “Eye” and “A Yawning Artist”.

In Soera, nearly all characteristic features of old-fashioned farmsteads have been preserved: the long threshing barn, the wide inner yard, the granaries, the summer kitchen, the cellar and a pleasant smoke sauna. It is, however, true that a dining house has been built on the remains of the animal barn and the old fields are all but gone. The central part of the main building (the barn room) was built in the middle of the 19th century and the chambers were added later, near the end of the century. Using this fairly typical Hiiumaa threshing barn as an example, it is a simple matter to observe the change in the lifestyle of the country folk – the barn room has no chimney, but the family room already has a chimney as well as wooden floors. In addition to the archaic buildings, it is possible to study old-fashioned tools and possessions, discover how people managed to sleep in those short beds, find out how clothes were preshrunk in Hiiumaa, how men were pulled home from taverns and how kids were raised. Outside the farmstead bounds a spacious coach house stands, built at a later time and containing larger vehicles meant for work and recreational activities.

The Niguliste Museum is one of the few northern European museums located in a former church, where ecclesiastical art can be enjoyed in its historical context. Late medieval altarpieces and wooden sculptures form the core of the collection. The best-known work in the museum is the Danse Macabre painted by Bernt Notke at the end of the 15th century. A large part of the exposition is comprised of post-Reformation ecclesiastical art from the 16th–17th centuries. The historical collection of the chandeliers of the church, as well as tombstones from the medieval and Early Modern periods, can be seen in the museum. The Silver Chamber, opened in 2001, displays a choice of objects from the silver collection of the Art Museum of Estonia, the most significant part being treasures of the Tallinn guilds and the Brotherhood of the Black Heads.

University of Tartu Natural History Museum affiliates zoological, geological, botanical and mycological collections.

We collect and preserve specimens of plant, fungus and animal kingdom, also minerals, rocks and fossils, develope public online databases based on research and citizen science. Natural History Museum organizes exhibitions and public events, also provide educational activities for schools and publishes educational materials.

The new permanent exhibition "Eart. Life. Story" is opened from 16 January 2016.

Children’s Museum of Tallinn City Museum is situated in Kalamaja, the oldest suburb of Tallinn. It is in a functional dwelling house from 1932 – 1934. The two floors of the museum are the home for toys from the Middle Ages up to the present days. The oldest objects are a small leather ball from the 15th century and a fashion doll from the 1st part of the 18th century.

The display introduces the toys like dolls, doll furniture, carriages and cars, trains, ships, toy pets, table games, children’s books, postcards and a lot of other things that people of all ages can enjoy.

In addition to the permanent exhibition several displays are composed on different topics like drawings, photos, craftf and so on.

Our museum is not only the home for old toys but children can also play in the play corner, read books, enjoy lego building and work in the workshop together with the instructor.

The idea to establish the Tartu Art Museum was born in the spring of 1938 at the 20th anniversary celebration of the Art Society "Pallas". According to the initial plan, each member of the society would donate at least one of their works of art to the new museum. The project started in earnest in 1940, when an exhibition was organised from 26 February to 10 March on the premises of the Higher Art School Pallas. This occasion saw the introduction of the museum’s inaugural collection – 124 pieces in all. The Tartu Art Museum was officially founded according to the statute of the City Council on 17 November 1940 at the address Suurturg 3 (the present Town Hall Square). The collections of the museum were moved between several buildings and evacuation sites during World War II. In November 1945, to provide a new home for the museum, work began to refurbish a former dwelling house at Vallikraavi 14, which opened its doors on 2 May 1946. At present this building houses the collections of the museum and the offices of the scientific personnel.

In 1988, the Tartu Art Museum acquired the right to use a freshly restored building in the heart of the town centre, Raekoja Plats 18, the so-called Leaning House. It is a classicist building that leans in a similar manner to the Tower of Pisa. Here the museum displays its permanent exhibition of Estonian art and smaller temporary exhibitions, as well as hosting concerts, lectures and other events.

The Tartu City Museum was established in 1955 for collecting, studying and displaying the objects connected with town history as well as other sources.The Tartu City Museum has been organizing Tartu History Days and Hansa Conferences and has been publishing its own yearbook since 1995.

In its heyday, the Old Observatory of the University of Tartu was one of the most advanced astronomical research facilities in the world. As such, it is without doubt one of the crown jewels in the history of Estonia’s science. The Old Observatory was built in 1808-1810 to designs by the university's architect, Johann Wilhelm Krause in the south-eastern corner of Toome Hill, once the location of a medieval bishop’s castle.

Constructed in classical style in the first half of the 19th century, our building is an architectural monument and one of great cultural importance to Estonia. Between 1870 and 1903 it was home to the Vanemuine Society, who laid the foundations for the tradition of Estonian song festivals. Other groups who had a significant influence on the shaping of national culture also operated in the building and organised events here: the Estonian Farmers Society of Tartu, the Estonian Literary Society and the Estonian Students Society. It was here on 24 June 1870 that Lydia Koidula’s Saaremaa Onupoeg /The Cousin from Saaremaa/ was performed for the first time, paving the way for Estonian national theatre.

The gardens surrounding the building played host to social get-togethers organised by the Vanemuine Society at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. In some years these parties, which were designed for the ordinary citizens of the city, attracted as many as 10,000 attendees.

The main attraction and the soul of the museum is to be called "Power of Song", an exhibition that tells the story of the legendary and world famous Estonian song festival tradition, conveys the feelings of a national awakening and the formation of a nation.

"Power of Song" is an exhibition of national survival through decades of oppression and occupation with a spotlight on the so called Singing Revolution in 1988, which ended the Soviet regime and led to restoration of the Republic of Estonia, established in 1918.

The exhibition is focused on the first and also the second song festival, the centennial celebration of the song festivals in 1969 and on the birth of the tradition of song festivals of students and boys' choirs (1956 and 1976 respectively) in Tartu, the university town and the cradle of Estonian national conscience. (Since 1896, the nationwide General Song Festivals were held in Tallinn.)

Located in an old wooden building in the heart of Tartu’s Old Town, the Toy Museum transports its adult visitors back to their most joyous childhood days and offers children plenty to see and do. The permanent exhibit displays toys that children in Estonia have played with throughout the ages. The display also includes artist-made dolls, souvenir dolls from around the globe and traditional Finno-Ugric toys. The museum has play and workshop rooms, and the exhibit rooms also offer plenty to keep one busy. Alternating exhibits and children’s activities are organized at the museum. The objective of the toy museum is to collect, preserve, study and introduce toys of Estonians and nations of other countries together with everything related to playing. The museum deals with the development of children’s culture and offers opportunities to spend free time for children and families.

The Tartu Toy Museum was opened on May 28, 1994, as a division of the department of culture of Tartu City Government. The museum was situated on the slope of Toome Hill in the basement rooms of a private house and a small backyard house at 1 Lai Street.By the end of 2003, Tartu Toy Museum moved into an old wooden house in Lutsu Street, which was specially renovated for the museum. On March 13, 2004, a new standing exhibition was opened for visitors together with a game and workshop room.On December 2, 2005, the house of theatre and animation puppets was opened in the former coach house in the yard of the museum. The characters and props of animation films made in Estonia during the last 50 years and sketches of cartoons that were previously exhibited in Toy Museum’s Film Puppets Gallery (Ülikooli St. 1) are now seen in this courtyard house. Until 2010 there was also an exposition of theatre puppets from Estonia and elsewhere in the courtyard house.On May 30, 2010, Tartu Toy Museum’s Theatre House (Lutsu St. 2) was opened as an addition to the whole complex. In Theatre House there is a theatre stage, Children’s Studio, and theatre puppets museum. Theatre House is a unique theatre which gets its inspiration from the Toy Museum, childhood, games and memories.

Get a glimpse of true Estonian countryside and village life in Estonian Open Air Museum!

The Estonian Open Air Museum is akin to a village, with 12 farms, as well as its own church, tavern and schoolhouse. There are a number of mills, a fire station, fishing net sheds as well as a dancing area and a village swing.

The museum is located in a lovely, well-maintained forest park on a high sandstone bank on Kopli Bay, just 15 minutes drive from the center of Tallinn. Take City Tour Bus to the gate.

Theatre House is a theatre inspired by a museum. In Theatre House people change – grown-ups encounter their childhood, children meet fantasy. As in life. As in theatre.

Theatre House is situated in the old town of Tartu, in a nicely renovated 18th century wooden building. This unique theatre belongs with Tartu Toy Museum and gets its inspiration from our childhood, games and memories, dreams and fantasies.In Theatre House you can watch performances with your family and friends, act yourself, play games, try your hand on several crafts and discover the exciting behind-the-stage life of a theatre. Upstairs is the children’s studio, for children groups of several ages to take part in theatre-themed programs. There is also a small souvenir shop and play corner in Theatre House. The rooms can be rented for family events, children parties, concerts, seminars and other causes.

In addition to Theatre House you can also visit the Toy Museum, where you may see old toys and dolls throughout the ages and play in the playroom. There is enough to see and do both in Theatre House and Toy Museum for everyone.

The project “Establishment of Tartu Toy Museum’s Theatre House” is funded by Enterprise Estonia Regional competitiveness improvement programme. The duration of the project is 01.07.2008 – 30.06.2010. The purpose of the project is the renovation of a nationally important architectural monument, Tartu Lutsu St 2 building, and implementation as Tartu Toy Museum’s multifunctional Theatre House.

University of Tartu Natural History Museum affiliates zoological, geological, botanical and mycological collections.

We collect and preserve specimens of plant, fungus and animal kingdom, also minerals, rocks and fossils, develope public online databases based on research and citizen science. Natural History Museum organizes exhibitions and public events, also provide educational activities for schools and publishes educational materials.

The new permanent exhibition "Eart. Life. Story" is opened from 16 January 2016.

Valga Museum is established in 1955 as local museum representing the South-East Estonian cultural heritage. Today Valga Museum is state museum, coordinated by Ministry of Culture.Some words about the house. It dates back to the year 1911 and was built for "Säde" society. "Säde" united the elite of Estonian bourgeoisy in Valga. Erecting such a grandiose house had to be manifestation of Estonia wealth and power in a town which had earlier been governed by Germans and had had Latvian majority of population.So it was a centre of Estonian social and cultural life. There were a bank, restaurant, shops and a big theatre hall.